Aftermath
by PattiL61
Summary: This is a follow-up to Po'ipu - after the shootout/attack at McGarret's house.  Thanks for the feedback - here's another chapter.  Hope you enjoy.  CONCLUSION - I know some of you may not like this conclusion, but I thought it the right one.  Thanks!
1. Aftermath

Aftermath…..

This is a follow-up to Po'ipu - - - - - -

The sudden silence brought them all outside McGarrett's house to the beach. There they found Steve, out of breath, facing the water. Sirens sounded in the background and were fast approaching. Danny and Chin were checking on the bodies they passed on their way to where Steve stood, collecting the guns and weapons that had been used in the assault against them. All the while, their guns were still in their hands – at the ready in the event that there was still someone left alive and ready to fight.

They reached their boss as the first of the emergency vehicles converged onto the property. Kono caught sight of the blood running down Steve's left arm. His arm hung at his side while he stared at the floating body of his former friend – someone he thought he knew so well. She could see the sadness on his face. He still held the gun in his right hand. Kono touched his right elbow in an attempt to take the gun from his hand. His hand tightened around the gun instinctively – he wasn't letting it go. Kono didn't even think he felt her touch.

"Steve, you alright?" asked Danny as the bustle of police filled in behind them. Steve glanced quickly at each of them, tucking the weapon into his waistband and turning to head back toward the house with a gruff "Yeah," in answer to Danny's question. So much killing had taken place in such a short time. First his father was murdered while he listened on the other end of a phone thousands of miles away – unable to do anything to prevent it; then this blood bath that had almost killed them all. He couldn't believe that he'd been fooled by Bull Frog like that.

Kono followed him back toward the house as Chin and Danny started to brief the Police Chief on what had happened. The contingent of HPD had fanned out around the house accounting for bodies and weapons.

She followed him quietly into the house, to the room under the stairs where they'd stashed the General and his family. Steve opened the door and told them it was safe to come out.

"Take them to the medics. Stay with them, I'll meet you there in a few minutes," he said to Kono as he started to look around the house. They couldn't be sure there wasn't another group trying to get to the General, so their job wasn't done yet.

Kono helped the General's wife exit, shielding her and her son from the sight of those dead on the floor. She looked at the man lying motionless on the floor as she walked them outside – the man that Steve had stopped from killing her from behind. She glanced back at Steve as she walked them outside and saw the almost lost look on his face.

"Where's the boss?" Chin asked as he and Danny met up with Kono, the General and his family at the ambulances.

"Still inside," she answered. "He needs to go to the hospital too."

"I'll go get him," answered Danny, turning to go back inside.

When he reached the front door, he stepped through to see Steve talking on the phone. Once he hung up, he turned to go out the door and saw Danny standing there.

"Danny…," he said and stopped. "I'm sorry – I should've known. I almost got us all killed."

"You had no way of knowing. This guy was somebody you've been through hell and back with. I wouldn't have given it a thought either," Danny answered. It was then that Danny noticed the blood still trickling down Steve's arm and that he wasn't really using it.

"Let's go. The ambulance is waiting for you," Danny told him. It was then that Steve noticed the pain in his left arm and looked down to see the nasty gash he'd sustained.

"Kono will ride with you and the General's wife in the ambulance and Chin and me will take the General and his son and follow behind you," Danny told him.


	2. Chapter 2

Okay – thanks for the feedback! Here's a little more for you - - not sure where this is going to go yet, so please bear with me…..

Chapter 2

Steve took a look around the house quickly – at the mess from all the gunfire – made sure there was no imminent danger of anything left turned on or damaged that would potentially burn the house down or anything. He absently felt in his pocket to make sure he had his keys as he walked to the front door and past Danny who was standing in the doorway. Danny pulled the door shut behind him, jiggling the handle to make sure it was locked - - not that somebody couldn't climb right in through one of the destroyed windows if they so chose.

He followed Steve down the walk toward the waiting ambulance, all the while both men on the lookout for any more threat to the General or his family. Steve said over his shoulder to Danny, "I called a buddy of mine – we served in Afghanistan together. He's gonna round up a couple other guys from our unit and meet us at the hospital. We've got to get a plan together to keep the General and his family safe until tomorrow."

"Yeah, 'cause your last buddy worked out so well…" Danny said sarcastically, immediately wishing he'd kept his mouth shut. He knew that Steve felt bad enough about what had happened. "Sorry, just trying to lighten the moment. Could've chosen a better comment, I guess."

Steve turned to walk backward toward the ambulance, a slight grin on his tired face. "I was actually waiting for the comment after what I just said, Danno," Steve joked, letting his partner off the hook for his comment. They reached the ambulance and, after another look around, Steve climbed in and sat next to Kono.

One of the medics starting trying to attend to Steve's injuries, but Steve shrugged off the attention, "I'm good – let's just get out of here." He glanced at Mrs. Pak then over at Kono and caught her looking at him, a strange look on her face.

"You okay, Kono?" he asked, suddenly concerned that maybe she'd been hurt in the exchange of gunfire.

"What? Yeah," she said, looking back at the General's wife and the medic who was attending to her injury.

"We're right behind you," Danny called over his shoulder as he and Chin headed for Danny's car, the doors of the ambulance closing.

Chin had advised the Incident Commander that they were heading to the hospital, and a contingent of officer's were assigned to accompany them until another security detail could be organized.

"H.P.D. is gonna make sure the windows and stuff are boarded and the house is secure before they clear out," Chin told Danny as the men got into the car and took off after the ambulance.

"Not to mention cleaning up the dead commandos everywhere," Danny quipped,getting a chuckle out of Chin.

/

At the hospital, Steve had finally started to relax enough to let the Emergency Room staff take a look at his arm and patch him up. Luckily, no tendons or bones were damaged. He'd need a bunch of stitches and the nurse was setting up for the doctor to do that soon.

Kono appeared in the doorway and Steve looked up at her. "Is everyone secure?" he asked her.

"Yeah, Honolulu P.D. are guarding all three of them and Danny and Chin are with your buddy Mick and three other guys talking over a plan. "You okay?" she asked, noticing something more than just fatigue on his face.

"Yeah…," he answered, forcing a smile on his face. After an awkward silence, he said, "Pretty crazy."

"Definitely," she answered. "Steve, I…" she started, but was cut off when the nurse and doctor returned to the room.

"We're gonna stitch him up now," the doctor told her.

"You can wait in the chairs outside," the nurse added, going about her preparations.

"Oh, okay. Yeah, I'll just catch up on things with Chin and Danny," she said awkwardly and left. Steve didn't notice the slight flush to her face.

/

"Okay, so Mrs. Pak is going to be released in a couple of hours," said Mick as Kono returned to the job at hand. "We're setting them up in a safe house with the help of the Police Department. Only a select few know the location," he continued as Chin noticed Kono re-enter the room and stand quietly in the corner listening to the plan.

After the plan had been discussed, Danny left to brief Steve about what was going on. The back-up team had left to gather up General Pak and his family. Chin and Kono would move out with them and Steve and Danny would join up with them as soon as Steve was finished getting taken care of.

"You okay, Cuz?" asked Chin as he followed Kono out of the room.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered, making herself perk up.

"How's the Boss doing?" Chin continued, still trying to gauge if his cousin was really okay. It was a pretty heavy thing they'd all just been through. Kono was pretty tough, but something this serious was new to her. He was proud of the way she handled herself though, and he knew that his faith in her being able to be a part of this team was the right call.

"He's okay. They're stitching him up now. He declined the pain meds," she said with a sideways glance and smirk at Chin.

"Of course he did," they both said in unison.

They walked past the exam room where Steve was being treated and briefed by Danny. Kono slowed slightly as they passed and caught Steve's eye. He gave her a thumbs up sign and a smile, then looked back to hear what Danny was saying.

TBC….. if you think I should….-


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for all the feedback. Here's another chapter….

Chapter 3

Kono and Chin had worked with the Boss' old SEAL team to get the General and his family to the safe house. The family was settled into the top floor of the residence, while the team covered the perimeter of the house and the first floor. The Governor had made sure that the house was stocked with plenty of food and necessities before their arrival. Who knew how long they'd be holed up there.

Kono was looking out the window, taking in the spectacular view of the lights from the city below. This house was up high, and it would be easy to see any threat attempting to make its way toward them.

Chin walked over to Kono and handed her a cup of coffee. "You're awfully quiet, Cuz," he said.

"Thanks," she said, taking the warm cup in both hands. "Been a long day," was all Kono said, not looking her cousin in the eye.

"Yeah, pretty hairy. You did good," Chin offered.

Kono's thoughts went back to earlier. She had listened to Steve talk to Nick Taylor while she was getting the rags into the gasoline-filled bottles. She remembers now the difference in the sound of his voice. There was anger for sure, but there was also a hint of sadness. Then, the shot that came through the window. Steve dove onto the floor covering her – she could still feel his hand and arm across her back. She remembered the feel of feeling safe despite the chaos all around. And then, all hell had broken loose…

She was thinking about when she'd heard the slightest sound behind her in the middle of the fight – she turned to see Steve removing the knife from the man who was about to kill her from behind. Steve moved toward her then, never making her feel like a weak link. He just moved on to the next target, knowing she was safe.

She was brought abruptly back to the present when they received a radio message that Steve and Danny were on their way up to the house.

Once Steve was released from the Emergency Room, Danny drove them up to the remote area of the safe house. Steve was pleased to see that his former SEAL team seemed to have everything under control. He could spot where the lookouts were – only because he had had a hand in training them way back when. But, they were well concealed to anyone else.

"Who did you just nod to?," Danny asked Steve as he saw the slight movement out of the corner of his eye.

"The Team's in place," Steve said casually, absently rubbing above and below the sutures in his arm.

"What? Where?" Danny asked, scanning the woods on either side of them, unable to pick up anything.

"All around us," Steve smirked as they reached the house.

After stopping to talk to some of the men guarding the perimeter outside the house, Danny and Steve had made their way into the house. Those that weren't actively on security patrol at the time – including Steve's friend Mick – were gathered in the kitchen talking over the events of the night and the plans to keep the General and his family safe until the General could testify.

"You look about as good as I'd expected," Mick called over to Steve has he came into the room, noticing the cut and bruise above Steve's eye and the sling for his arm.

"Mick," Steve said with a grin, as he removed the sling the doctor had told him to wear for a few days and reached a hand out to greet his old friend.

"Thanks for coming," he said.

"No worries," Mick told him. "Bullfrog? Huh…," he said and both men exchanged a disappointed look.

"I know. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes," he told him. "So, where do we stand now? I saw the guys in the woods along the way up to the house. They look like they're all set," he said, abruptly moving off the subject of their now-dead rogue friend.

The group started briefing Steve on what had gone on while he was getting patched up at the hospital.

Kono stood off to the side, watching Steve's interaction with the men who'd all learned to depend on each other over in the war. Could she become effective enough that Steve would trust her with his life? She certainly had the feeling that she could trust her's with him – and what was the other feelings she noticed within herself….

TBC…..


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry it took so long…. Here's another chapter!

Chapter 4

"Okay," Steve said has he turned to his team following the briefing meeting, "Mick and the boys are taking the first watch so we can get some rest. We take the General and his family in to hand them over to testify in the morning. So, everyone grab a place to crash," he finished, looking at each of his team members, his gaze lingering ever so slightly on Kono. He thought he noticed something off about Kono. He'd have to check with Chin about that, he thought to himself as the group broke up.

Kono headed off to one of the bedrooms located on the first floor, Chin and Danny each chose from the remaining rooms as Steve took the room toward the front of the house.

Kono tossed and turned, unable to keep the events out of her thoughts. Finally, she got up and headed toward the kitchen to grab a drink. As she quietly headed up the hallway so as not to disturb anyone, she passed the room Steve was in and noticed the room was empty, the bed undisturbed. Just as she passed his room, they ran into each other as he was coming around the corner from the bathroom, where he'd just tried to clean up as much as he could without getting his stitches wet. He flinched when she instinctively put her arms out to prevent crashing into him and struck his fresh stitches. He was shirtless and she saw the stitches and various older scars about his torso, wondering what the story was behind those scars.

"Whoa, sorry about that," Steve whispered, smiling. "You okay?" he asked as she stood awkwardly in the hallway. They were whispering to keep from disturbing the others.

"Yeah, sorry. Did I rip your stitches?" she asked reaching up to check to make sure his arm wasn't bleeding again.

He looked down at his arm as he felt her soft touch. "Nah, its all good," he said, somehow enjoying her touch.

She jolted herself back to the moment and pulled her hand back. "I was just heading to get a drink. Can't seem to wind down I guess," she told him as she started to pass him. He followed her out toward the kitchen.

"I was meaning to ask you if you were okay," he asked innocently and looked up to notice the irritated look on her face. "What?" he asked, not knowing what he'd done wrong trying to hide the grin that wanted to come across his face at her angry face.

"Nothing," she said irritably and turned to the cabinet to get a glass and then to the refrigerator. She stood with the door open, not even seeing the choices as she slowly simmered.

"Ummm…, yeah. Doesn't sound like nothing," he stated, moving toward her.

She felt him behind her, and then he reached past her to grab a juice out of the refrigerator. She felt his breath on the side of her neck as he leaned in and his arm brushed her shoulder as he brought the bottle of juice back out of the refrigerator.

She turned around and was a little startled to see that he was still right behind her, looking right at her, waiting for her to answer him.

"Kono," he said softly. "It was a pretty big deal tonight. I'm sorry that you were put in that position. I should've known that something was off with Nick - - it just took me totally by surprise. I let my guard down," he said, sadly, still not understanding how he could have missed the change in his friend.

"You didn't let your guard down, you're not still in Afghanistan. You shouldn't need to keep your guard up." she told him, taking a step away and sitting at the kitchen table. "And, you didn't 'put me in that position.' I put me in that position. Its my job and I love it," she said passionately. "Everyone needs to start treating my like a cop. That's what I am. I'm not a kid," she said.

He innocently reached across the table and put his hand over hers. "No, you're definitely not a kid and I know you're a cop - - a good cop, Kono." Neither said a word. After a moment, he pulled his hand back reluctantly.

Kono looked at him, and standing up, said finally, "You should get some rest."

He watched her walk back toward the bedroom she was using. He took his juice and walked toward the window to take a look around outside, a little afraid of what he thought he was feeling.

TBC…..


	5. Chapter 5

Here's some more…..

Chapter 5

Steve had woken to the smallest hint of light coming through the window. It was nearly dawn – time to wake the team and get things organized for the trip to turn over General Pak and his family. He let out a groan as he pulled his tired, battered body off the bed. He put on a large pot of coffee, poured himself a cup and headed down the hallway to wake his team.

The first room he entered was Kono's. He leaned against the doorframe, took a sip of coffee and watched her for a moment, the peaceful look on her face making him pause just a little longer before he softly called out to her. He took a step closer, "Kono," he half-whispered. She sat bolt upright, grabbing for her gun on the nightstand and pointing it toward the noise.

"Whoa!," Steve said, startled. "It's me, Kono, Steve," he assured her. She blinked a moment and saw that she was pointing her gun at her boss.

"Sorry, I guess I fell asleep after all," she said, hoping he couldn't see the blush coming across her face. She caught her breath and stood up.

"Time to get ready to move the General and his family," he said before heading out to wake the rest.

"_Great! Shoot your boss!,"_ she admonished herself. She ran a brush through her hair, smoothed the clothes she'd been sleeping in and headed out to work.

Steve made his way down to Danny's room, "Danno – rise and shine," he said loudly and flipped on the light switch. He grinned as he turned to head toward Chin, listening to the groans of Danny, his eyes trying to adjust to the sudden light. "You son of a…" he heard as he reached Chin's room.

"I'm already awake," he heard Chin say as he reached for the switch.

"Oh…, good. Let's get moving then," he said, kind of disappointed at not being able to irritate Chin too.

They all met in the kitchen, pouring coffee and greeting Mick and his team that were coming off watch – the other team had gone out to keep vigil until they were ready to move out at 0600 hours.

/

Precisely at 0600, the Pak family had been loaded up into the convoy of vehicles. Steve and the team had thanked Mick and his team before heading off to deliver the General for his testimony.

Steve, Danny, Kono and Chin were now back at Headquarters, doing paperwork. Steve had just finished briefing the Governor on the events and came out of his office. "Governor said to tell you all you did a great job," Steve relayed. "Who's up for some food?" Everyone apparently, because pens were dropped, computers were turned off and they all seemed to be ready at the same time.

/

They had all enjoyed a relaxing evening of food and comraderie and, at about 11:00 p.m., had gone their separate ways, planning on meeting up bright and early the next day for work. Steve pulled up in front of his house, the boarded up windows and front door reminding him what had happened there. He sat in his truck just looking at the damage for a few moments. With a heavy sigh, he got out, grabbed his gear and headed toward the house. He stopped to pick up the larger pieces of the glass Molotov cocktail he'd thrown through the front window to slow down the attack. He glanced around at the crime scene tape that was wrapped around the front entrance to the house and headed around to the back – the only door that hadn't been destroyed by the gunfire and onslaught of Nick Taylor's team.

Despite being exhausted, he couldn't wind down enough to catch some sleep. He was wandering around the house surveying the damage and picking up things here and there to haul out to the trash pile he started compiling outside the back door.

"Need a hand?" he heard as he came out the door. With one smooth movement, he had dropped his armful of trash, drew his gun, and was on top of the intruder…. before realizing it was Kono.

"What are you doing here?" he asked angrily, getting off of her while simultaneously holstering his gun and pulling her up off the ground. Before she could catch her breath and answer, he followed up with, "Are you alright?" He was surveying her to make sure he hadn't hurt her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, brushing the dust from the ground off her clothing. "So much for a shower and change of clothes," she said, still a little shocked at his reaction. "I'm sorry, I couldn't sleep and was driving around. Next thing I knew, I was in front of your house. I saw the lights on and thought I'd see if you needed help starting the cleanup," she finished.

Steve realized how close he'd come to shooting her. "I didn't hear you drive up. Sorry," he said, motioning for her to follow him into the house. "You want some coffee or something?" he asked, pouring himself another cup.

"Yeah, you need more caffeine, Boss," she answered sarcastically.

He chuckled, poured her a cup and handed it to her, "Cream is in the fridge and the sugar is on the counter," he told her, walking out to the couch, leaving her to fix her coffee and join him.

She surveyed the damage as she made her way through the room to the couch. "Wow, they sure did a number on this place," she noted as she sat on the other end of the couch and took a sip. She immediately made a face, "This is AWFUL!" she said, avoiding the urge to spit the mouthful of coffee back out, swallowing it instead. She set the cup down. "No wonder you're still awake, that's the strongest coffee I've ever tasted."

He shrugged, "You think, 'cause I ran out of coffee. Its weaker than I usually drink it."

"Wow," was all she could find in answer.

They sat in silence for a few moments. Finally, looking over to where Steve had taken out the guy that was coming up behind her, Kono said, "I should thank you."

"For what?" Steve asked, looking at her, not sure what she was talking about.

She pointed over to the area she was talking about, "That guy had me dead to rights – I never heard him coming."

"You did fine – they're trained in being quiet," he said dismissing his actions.

"No, he would have killed me, and somehow you were in the right place at the right time…, as usual," she said, holding his gaze.

"I told you in the beginning – after that hostage situation with the kid. You remember, the night you missed your academy graduation? I told you I'd always protect you…" he trailed off, this time he held _her_ gaze.

"And, you did," she said, smiling. "I want you to teach me – train me to be that good. I don't want to be the one to let this team down," she said quietly.

Steve moved closer to her. "Kono, you are doing great. Really, I mean that. You've come so far since I first met you. I didn't know if you were ready, you were so inexperienced. But, Chin Ho assured me you were ready, and you've been an invaluable part of this team," he said, and they both realized that his hand was on her arm, his other hand in hers. They stayed that way for a moment, then they both seemed to lean into each other at the same time and kissed.

It was a tender, tentative kiss; as though each was waiting to see the reaction of the other. When the kiss was over, Steve said – still close to Kono's face – "I'm sorry. That was…," he stood up and walked over to the other side of the room. Looking back at her, he said again, "I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay," Kono said quickly. "I….," she didn't finish and stood up. "Look, maybe I should go," she said, grabbing her keys from her pocket and heading for the door. "Did he regret it; had she initiated it?" she asked herself.

"Kono," he called after her, not sure what he should do. Should he go after her, or let her go. She was a part of his team – they had to work together. He decided to let her go, not sure what he should've done – he was her boss. It was wrong to have kissed her, even though the memory of the kiss was still VERY fresh in his mind. He listened as Kono's car started up and she drove off.

/

TBC…


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Kono was sitting on the couch in her apartment, looking at the sunrise, when her attention was summoned to a constant beeping sound. Her alarm clock was going off in the bedroom. She sighed and slowly walked into the bedroom to turn it off. She hadn't gotten any sleep after coming home from Steve's last night. She looked at herself in the mirror and didn't like what she saw – she not only felt like, but _LOOKED_ like she'd been up all night. Then, her fingers lightly touched her own lips, the memory of the feel of his lips against hers fresh again in her mind. She closed her eyes, picturing him in her mind – then the look on his face following their came into her mind.

"Well, this ought to be an interesting work day," she said to herself, wondering if she should even bother going in to work today. How awkward would it be? "Pretty awful," she answered herself.

Just the same, she pushed herself away from her mirror and headed off to the shower wishing to herself that it would be a quiet day and she'd be able to keep to herself in her office and finish her paperwork – hell, she wished it would be a quiet rest of the week!

/

Steve had managed to get _some_ sleep, although not much. He was not looking forward to going into the office today and facing Kono. He had no idea what to say. He had no idea why he had let that happen. He had told himself the rest of the night that it was just all the adrenaline that had been flowing non-stop for the last couple of days. He'd forced himself to call Catherine – despite her being out at sea at the moment. He hadn't seen her in two months. He had succeeded in scaring her to death by getting a call relayed to her in the middle of the night - she'd thought he'd been injured…, or worse. He told her about the last couple of days – except the part about kissing Kono – and had talked with her about Nick. She assured him that it wasn't his fault. They said good-bye, making plans to see each other as soon as she returned early next week.

He forced himself out of the bed and jumped in to get showered and dressed for work. "Hopefully it'll be a busy day," he thought to himself as he grabbed something to eat from the cabinet and headed off to work.

/

Danny and Chin were already in the office when Kono came through the door. They both looked up from their desks when the door opened and it was Chin who noticed Kono's appearance first. With a frown, he stood up and sauntered out of his office to follow Kono to her office. Danny stayed put, noticing the way Kono looked, deciding it was better to let Chin make first contact. You know, cousins and all….

Kono felt Chin walking behind her into her office. She hung up the light jacket that was called for today and threw her purse into the bottom drawer of her desk, keeping her eyes averted from Chin. She continued getting ready for the day of work ahead, clipping her badge to her belt and adjusting her gun on her side. "Hey Cuz," she finally offered in greeting. "Anything going on this morning?" she asked, trying to sound cheerful.

Chin looked at his cousin, cocked his head slightly as if trying to figure out if he was imagining her unease or if it was real. "Nah, Cuz. Quiet so far today," he answered, still trying to get a good look at her face. "You're a little late today. You feeling okay?"

Kono put on a cheerful front and looked at Chin. "Yeah, you know, I didn't sleep great last night. I thought I would after the last couple of days…," she said.

"Yeah, me either," Chin told her, although he'd gone home and fell asleep immediately. He didn't even remember his head hitting the pillow, he was so exhausted. "Probably still wound up after everything," he assured her.

Without either of them noticing, Danny had made his way from his office to the coffee pot and sauntered over to the two of them. "Good morning, Kono," he said, glancing from Kono to Chin – a silent look between the two men relayed Danny asking if she was okay and Chin saying he wasn't sure.

"Hey Danny," Kono answered, almost too cheerfully. She pushed the power button on her computer. "Better get busy on these reports," she said, grabbing her coffee cup off her desk and heading for the coffee pot. She walked outside the door to her office and let out a long breath. She hadn't realized she'd been holding her breath while trying to keep her composure.

On her way to the coffee pot, she glanced over to Steve's office, somewhat relieved that he wasn't there.

"What's up?" Danny asked Chin as they both left Kono's office.

"I'm not sure. She looks like she's been up all night," Chin offered.

"All you're missing is the water cooler, Ladies," Kono joked as she passed the two men still standing outside her office sipping their coffee. She continued past and into her office, sat down and starting typing away on the keyboard.

The two men looked at each other. "Hmmm," Chin said, sauntering off to his office throwing a last look over his shoulder at his cousin.

"Indeed," Danny added as he went back to his office. Danny looked at the empty Commander's office and at his watch, noting that their fearless leader had not yet made an appearance.

/

Steve pulled into the parking lot, mentally noting that Danny's, Chin's and Kono's cars were all present and accounted for. He had stopped at the bakery on the way in – no doubt trying to delay the inevitable. He turned off his truck and with a heavy sigh, grabbed the box of goodies off the seat next to him and got out. He walked toward the building, pointing the key fob over his shoulder and pushing the lock button, the familiar toot of the horn telling him his truck was secure. He absently reached over and rubbed the wound on his arm – it was starting to itch and the stitches felt like they were pulling. He couldn't wait to get them out.

He climbed the stairs to their offices and opened the door. He walked toward his office, trying not to look to his right, but it wasn't possible. He glanced in Kono's direction only to find, thankfully, that she was on the phone. He glanced left and held up the box of pastries for Chin to see. Chin immediately smiled and jumped up to follow the treats to their final destination. Danny noticed the box as well and quickly followed the two men.

"Steven," Danny said in greeting as they all converged on the food.

"Danno," Steve answered, pouring himself a cup of coffee. "What's Kono working on?" he asked, glancing back toward her office.

"I dunno," Chin answered. "Reports, she said," he added, picking up two pastries. "Thanks," he called over his shoulder as he headed back to his desk.

Steve grabbed a pastry from the box and looked up at his partner who was staring back at him. "What?" he said, taking a big bite of the pastry.

"You're late," Danny said, noticing _something_ in his partner's look.

"I stopped for breakfast," he answered with a frown. "And, if memory serves me right, I wasn't the one sawing wood all night at the safe house," he called back over his shoulder as he headed for his office.

"That was not my fault," Danny called back to him. He glanced from his partner to Kono and then to Chin. "Something's up," he said quietly to himself and headed back to his office.

Hanging up from the fake phone call, Kono looked toward her boss' office. His was looking out the window, sipping his coffee, his back to her. "Awkward," she sing-songed to herself and went back to trying to concentrate on her work.

TBC…


	7. Chapter 7  Conclusion

OK- some of you aren't going to like this. But, I wasn't sure where it should go and I think this is probably the way it SHOULD end – the team intact. Thanks for the feedback!

Chapter 7

It had been a long, quiet day. Now Kono was changing her mind, wishing that they'd had a case to work on – to divert her attention. She glanced at her watch, let out a long sigh and shut down her computer. Danny had left about an hour ago – it was his turn to pick up Grace from school. Chin was running down some loose ends on another case that they'd finished up. Steve and Kono had been left alone in the office, but Steve had been tied up with the Navy higher-ups in and out of his office all afternoon going over the downfall of Nick Taylor and his team.

Now, she picked up her coffee mug and headed down the hallway to the kitchen area to clean it before she left for the day. She glanced over to Steve's office, but his seat was empty. With a mixture of relief and disappointment, she assumed he'd left for the day. She was wrong.

She turned the corner to go into the kitchen and saw Steve going through the cabinets. He heard her footsteps behind him and froze momentarily. You could almost feel the tension in the room. Kono stopped in her tracks at the doorway – should she turn and go back, wash her mug in the morning, or say something. "Hell," she thought to herself. "He already knows I'm here. If he heard that guy at his place, then he sure as hell heard me."

"Hey," she said, trying to sound casual as she went to the sink and started her task.

"Hey, yourself," he answered, grabbing a package of undoubtedly stale crackers and closing the cabinet. He turned around and leaned against the counter, slowly opening the package. He was looking at her back, her hands busily washing what must have been an extremely filthy cup with all the scrubbing she was doing.

"I think its probably clean enough," he said to her, and watched her hands stop moving.

She rinsed the mug, turned off the water and grabbed a towel. Turning around toward him, "Yeah, I shouldn't have let it sit all day." This was the first she'd seen him up close all day. He looked tired, but, more than tired. He looked sad.

"You okay?" she asked him. "You look wiped. Hard day talking about everything?" she said, meeting his gaze.

He shrugged and just said, "Yeah, a little. You look tired yourself." He frowned and held up the crackers, "We really need to restock in here I guess," he said, throwing the stale crackers into the trash, a loud grumble coming from his stomach. He hadn't had a chance to eat anything all day.

"I can stop in the morning before I come in," she offered.

"That's okay, I'll take care of it tonight," he said. "Any special requests?"

"I'll go with you if you want," she offered. "We can grab some real food at The Noodle House first if you want. It's not good to shop on an empty stomach…, and should we talk?" she said, putting the towel down and her mug over by the coffee pot. She grabbed the pot, rinsed it out and got it ready for the next morning so whoever came in first would only have to push the brew button.

"Uh, yeah, sounds good," Steve answered with that little boy smile that always got to her. "Let me go square away my office. I'll be a minute," he said walking out of the kitchen.

He met her at her office and they both walked toward the door, switching off the lights as they exited and locked up behind them. Out in the parking lot, theirs were the only two vehicles left sitting under the lights.

"We can take mine," Kono offered. "I have the trunk for the groceries," she said.

"Sure," he said, holding out his hand for the keys.

"I'm not Danny," she teased. "I'll drive," she finished, smiling to herself and walking over to her car, leaving him standing there, stunned at his loss of control. He chuckled to himself and followed her to her car.

/

At the restaurant, they looked over the menu and ordered their food.

"So, what was the seats thing all about?" Kono asked him. When they had entered the restaurant, Steve followed her to a table but, just before they sat, he had asked if she minded switching seats with him. She didn't care, so they switched and Steve sat with his back to the wall and facing the front of the place. Kono sat across from him, facing the back.

"What? Oh… I don't know, I just don't like having my back to things. Years of looking out for the bad guys I guess," he shrugged as the waitress brought over their drinks.

She just nodded and their eyes held for just a moment. "Did you finish surveying the damage to your place?" she asked him, trying to bring the conversation around to last night. "It didn't look so bad last night, but I imagine with the light of day, it was much worse."

"Yeah – well, I sure have my work cut out for me. I have the insurance guy coming over tomorrow, but I'm not real sure my Dad thought to get a "damage from gunfire and explosions" clause in his policy," he joked.

"Just tell him it was a random bolt of lightning, or a truck went off the road and through the place," she kidded him back.

Their food came out next and they sat and ate quietly for a few moments. Kono picked at her food, while she watched Steve devour his almost immediately. Somewhere off to the side, someone dropped a tray of dishes and the crash brought Kono's attention in that direction.

"So, about what happened last night," Steve said, bringing her attention back while he watched the restaurant owner and the waitress try to clean up the mess. He looked back at her and held her gaze for a minute. "I'm not sure what that really was…," he said. "I mean, don't get me wrong, it was nice," he added quickly.

"But…,"she started the next sentence for him.

"But, I'm not sure its…, well, what do YOU think" he decided to see what she was thinking and feeling.

"I'm not sure either, but if we're being honest, I've kind of had a feeling about you since about the first week of working together. I'm not really sure what the feeling is; either its awe - and there's certainly a lot to be awed about when I watch you work – or more than that," she said, blushing. "But, I do know that I liked the kiss last night."

"Yeah, the kiss was definitely nice," he said. "But, while I'm flattered, I'm not sure it's what you think," he added. Kono had a confused look on her face. "Look, the last couple of days have been crazy. A lot of stuff all going down at once. All kinds of adrenaline flying around. I think that's what it was – just coming down from the adrenaline rush," he said, hoping he wasn't hurting her feelings.

He reached across and took her hand. She started to pull her hand away, but he held it tight. "Kono," he said quietly, waiting for her to look up at him. "I'm sorry if I led you on differently. I shouldn't have let it happen. It was a…."

"A mistake?" she answered somewhat angrily.

"Yes," he agreed. "A mistake - - on MY part," he said. "Look, you are a great cop, we would be lost without all the things you are good at. But, we're like a family and it would be wrong to mess that up," he said. "You're like my lit…," he said, pausing. "You're like a sister. I'm too old for you anyway – you should be hanging out with your friends when you're not working, not with me and all my hang-ups," he said.

"Okay?" he said, ducking his head down, trying to get her to look at him. "Kono?"

"Yeah," she said finally. "It's just…, I guess you're right. I got caught up in it all. You saving me and all," she said. "I'm sorry."

"No! No, Kono – nothing to be sorry about. Please tell me that this won't affect our team, our family," he said hopefully.

"No – we're good, Brah," she answered.

"Okay," he said, putting money on the table for the food. "Let's get some groceries," he said as they both stood up. Walking out the door, he put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a brotherly semi-hug.

The End.


End file.
